Residential proxies are similar to virtual private networks in terms of the purpose of use. The main reason behind the use of such servers is to hide the IP address and location of the device. Its power offers companies a wide variety of options for use, such as SEO monitoring, competitive market research, business automation, social media management, etc.
Although residential proxies are not nearly safe as the VPN, they are still highly sophisticated tools that guarantee anonymous browsing. What they do is provide IP details of real devices from different places, which makes it hard to detect, track or block. Besides using the IP address linked to a legit device, residential proxy networks use several hundred to several thousand unique addresses.
That way when a user connects to a target site for the second time, it is registered from a location different from the previous one. Without further ado, let’s look at the residential proxies closer and see how they work, as well as what makes people use them.
The reasons for using Residential Proxy
There are several different reasons why people use residential proxy networks. For example, tracking online ads is no easy task even though a lot of money is spent on digital marketing every day. Residential proxies allow users to see who sees their ads and where.
Market research is probably the primary reason why residential proxies are so popular. Web scraping, affiliate testing, SEO, and much more is possible with this method. Affiliate testing for example has never been easier. It checks whether local affiliate content is credible or not. To localize ads, users go with ad verification using real IP addresses for both real desktop and mobile devices.
Companies also gather a lot of information with web scraping, especially the data of competitors. The difference is that proxies let it happen fast. On the other hand, some companies go with residential proxies for advanced market research. Most of that information comes from web scraping, where users get a clear demographic picture of the target market. Furthermore, this method enhances the reach and attracts new customers
Social media management is also one of the common reasons. Especially if a manager has clients from different regions or continents, residential proxy comes in handy. Some social media networks are cautious of multiple accounts running under the same IP. Therefore, some additional verification steps are available to increase security. A residential proxy also helps you avoid geo-blocking.
Remember that every time you connect to the internet you reveal some information regarding your cookies or browser information. Retail owners are also fans of residential proxies. A good example is sneaker bots, which are used for the start of copping but also for scraping platforms like eBay, Shopify, etc. That is not all, so do not be surprised if you hear about your entrepreneurs, managers, small startup companies, or others who rely heavily on residential proxies.
How do Residential Proxies work
Unlike the data center proxies, residential proxies are much more demanded and more reliable on the market, but also harder to track and block. This is how it works in a practical setting. Proxies generally use an intermediary server to navigate your internet traffic, and the server replaces the IP address of the connection request.
By that, the IP is hidden, and you might act just like another regular joe. Keep in mind that setting up a residential proxy will mainly depend on your device, but don’t worry – nowadays you can find plenty of guides and tutorials that teach you so.
